That the skin is an exercise in advanced digital fabrication, applied with such élan is, in itself, a proclamation, a sort of late-career renaissance, which thrusts the firm into a next generation spotlight.

Craig Hodgetts, leader of UCLA's 2015 Hyperloop Suprastudio and former automotive designer, takes a contrarian view on the Petersen's widely critically-maligned redesign. We also spoke with Craig on the podcast about his views on transportation's future – take a listen for some context... View full entry

Built in 1962, the People’s Bank has distinct glossy, off-teal bricks and a sawtooth, vaulted rooftop. The building is not only one of the finest remaining examples of Googie commercial architecture in Kentucky — it is one of the finest examples in the nation. However, after years of neglect, locals are working to ensure that the building isn’t leveled into a movie theater parking lot.
— hyperallergic.com

Related in the Archinect news:Only one vote left before Marina City can become official city landmarkL.A. City Council Officially Votes Norms Restaurant as "Historic and Cultural Landmark"Has preservation become too conservative and elitist? View full entry

Developer Jason Illoulian of Faring Capital is the new owner of the land under the restaurant and its 43 parking spaces ... his plan: To build a “community of shops” where the parking lot now stands. [...]

“It’s such a beautiful building and that sign is just like fucking awesome,” he says.

Will there be room in this new village for an $11.99 steak dinner? “We’re hoping to keep it as a 24- hour diner,” says Illoulian of the restaurant space. “Whether it’s Norms or somebody else.”
— lamag.com

This upcoming Thursday, the Cultural Heritage Commission will decide whether the La Cienega Norms that faced imminent demolition back in January will be given monument status. Meanwhile, development plans for the site are chugging along. Developer Jason Illoulian, who purchased the site back in... View full entry

Friday, January 16:Architecture for Humanity to shut down: The San Francisco HQ has laid off all employees and will file for bankruptcy, however it's unclear how this will affect operations of the many national/international AfH outposts that function through volunteers.Work at Manhattan's... View full entry

At a hearing earlier today, Los Angeles’ Culture Heritage Commission voted to consider granting Historic-Cultural Monument status to Norms Coffee Shop on La Cienega. This would protect the iconic building in the Googie modern style until a final decision is made by the commission. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, the new owners of Norms were issued a demolition permit on January 5, triggering a wave of outrage from architectural preservationists.
— hyperallergic.com

Googie was used as a deragatory term almost from the start — born in Southern California and named for a West Hollywood coffee shop designed in 1949 by John Lautner, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Architecture critic Douglas Haskell was the first to use “Googie” to describe the architectural movement, after driving by the West Hollywood coffee shop and finally feeling like he had found a name for this style that was flourishing in the postwar era.
— blogs.smithsonianmag.com

Davis incorporated aerodynamic designs into his whimsical midcentury coffee shops, including the original Norms on La Cienega Boulevard in L.A. and Pann's near Westchester, to attract passing motorists.
— latimes.com